Google’s Project Loon, primarily seen as a new way to bring Internet access to billions of unconnected consumers, will be deployed in U.S. markets as well, according to Google Project Loon project lead Mike Cassidy.
“Even in my house, I don’t have a cell signal,” he said. “We’re going to come to the United States, too.”
As currently envisioned, Project Loon balloons will communicate with terrestrial Long Term Evolution mobile towers, but also be able to communicate with adjacent balloons as well, extending the range any single balloon can operate from any single base station.
The communication challenges pale in comparison to the tracking challenges. Indeed, it would not be inaccurate to say the fundamental challenge for any mesh network of moving radio platforms is to “track” the moving targets.
The perhaps surprising intention is to deploy balloons across the northern hemisphere, not just the southern hemisphere where billions of potential Internet users live.
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